Is Berlin the new home for tech start-up business? [video] • Hacker News Board

Re: Is Berlin the new home for tech start-up business? [video]

#171

Post by olifante » Sun, Aug 05, 2012, 5:23 PM UTC

eli_gottlieb wrote: post #168

Spearchucker wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dude that's pretty confrontational. I don't pretend it didn't happen. I didn't say so either. No German I know pretends it didn't happen. HN is not a forum for prejudice.

"Stay in gorgeous, perfectly renovated apartments in pre-WWII residential buildings with high ceilings" You don't see anything disturbing about that sentence? Nothing at all? No somewhat-disturbing suggestion that apartment renters today can happily reap the benefits of dispossession and war?

I don't see anything remotely disturbing about that sentence. On the other hand, I'm disturbed by how readily you condemn other people for something they never said.

Re: Is Berlin the new home for tech start-up business? [video]

#172

Post by asdkl234890 » Sun, Aug 05, 2012, 5:50 PM UTC

nirvana wrote: post #131

asdkl234890 wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lowest livings costs with highest quality of living. Stay in gorgeous, perfectly renovated apartments in pre-WWII residential buildings with high ceilings, right in the middle of the center and pay a fraction of costs of any other capital (even cheaper than any Eastern European capital). Why is this true? Honest question, how can a great large Western European city cost a fraction of other, even Eastern European citi…

World War II, the Berlin Wall. Remember the Wall only came down in 1990ish. There is still a huge swath cut thru the city where it used to be, without buildings. The former east german side has many old buildings built up in the prosperous pre-war era, that are now rather inexpensive. In the past 20 years things have improved quite a bit in terms of renovation, but it takes time for population to build up again, and…

But a lack of buildings (due to the Wall) should mean rents are higher. Same for bombing destroying buildings, this results in fewer building on the market.

As to pre-war architecture, all of Europe, including Eastern Europe is full of it.

The only thing which might give me some insight is that you mention it takes time for the population to build back up?

So rents are cheap because Berlin is today still under populated?

But why is that? Or why are other formerly bombed out cities not also under populated? In Easter Europe there is still a lot of migration from the smaller cities and villages into the big cities. This may be why those are more expensive than Berlin. But that only begs the question why is Berlin specifically so slow to re-populate? Is it because other German large cities, even with higher rent, are more attractive? Which would explain why the rent there is higher?

Re: Is Berlin the new home for tech start-up business? [video]

#173

Post by asdkl234890 » Sun, Aug 05, 2012, 5:52 PM UTC

vellum wrote: post #153

asdkl234890 wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lowest livings costs with highest quality of living. Stay in gorgeous, perfectly renovated apartments in pre-WWII residential buildings with high ceilings, right in the middle of the center and pay a fraction of costs of any other capital (even cheaper than any Eastern European capital). Why is this true? Honest question, how can a great large Western European city cost a fraction of other, even Eastern European citi…

Berlin's cheap because it's located in the middle of former East Germany, which has cheaper rents than West Germany. Also, most of the business centers are located elsewhere in West Germany. Frankfurt is the finance capital. Cologne is the media capital. Munich has a ton of large companies like Siemens, etc.

Berlin's cheap because it's located in the middle of former East Germany, which has cheaper rents than West Germany.

Right, but the original comment claims is cheaper even than most East European capitals, most of which were and still are in even worse economic shape than East Berlin.

The other claim is that it's actually a great city, but you say that other cities probably have more economic opportunity which does explain why Berlin might be so cheap.